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Last week, Lancaster city officials voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance designed to discourage gangs by imposing penalties on the owners of dogs deemed “potentially dangerous” or “vicious.” The new law specifically targets two breeds of dogs that officials say are favored by gang members: pit bulls and Rottweilers. When the law goes into effect on March 1, it will require the spaying or neutering of all pit bulls, Rottweilers, and pit bull and Rottweiler mixes with “predominant physical characteristics” of those breeds. (Puppies under four months of age and dogs considered to be at high risk for surgical complications will be exempt from the spay/neuter requirement.)

Although this law was enacted to target gangs, it is the dogs that are under attack, and the residents of Lancaster are up in arms. I’m also not a fan of breed-specific laws, but in my opinion, one more spayed or neutered dog means one less homeless animal that has to fight for a home.

If the city of Lancaster went one step further and voted to ban these breeds altogether, along with the residents I would be irate. Breed bans don’t work. They separate pet owners from their beloved dogs, regardless of the maturity and commitment of the owners, or the temperament and background of the dog. Breed-specific bans essentially punish responsible dog owners simply because they own a specific breed of dog. These dog owners may lose their pet even though they are doing everything right and their dog is well behaved.

When I managed the Michigan Humane Society, the city of Pontiac decided to ban pit bulls in an attempt to crack down on dog fighting. Thirty days following the ordinance, dozens of pit bulls were turned in to our shelter by responsible, loving owners who were obeying the law. Unfortunately, all of these pit bulls were euthanized due to the Michigan Humane Society’s pit bull policy (which has since been overturned). Meanwhile, the irresponsible pit bull owners who were breeding their dogs for fighting disregarded the ban and continued to fight their dogs anyway. Thankfully, this law has been reversed.

Twenty years ago, the public didn’t seem too concerned about pit bulls and Rottweilers. At that time it was the Doberman pinscher that was being vilified. Then in 2001, after a Presa Canario fatally attacked Diane Whipple in San Francisco, troubled individuals sought out this breed thinking it was the new “killer” dog. Unfortunately, the “problem dog” at any given time is often the most popular breed among individuals who tend to be irresponsible pet owners. If you ban one breed, these individuals will just move on to another one.

Regardless, breed alone is not an accurate indicator of a dog’s propensity to be aggressive. A dog’s tendency to be vicious is a product of several factors including: socialization, obedience, quality of care and supervision by the owner (is the dog part of the family or is he kept chained outside?), and whether the dog has been spayed or neutered. Spayed and neutered animals tend to be less aggressive. Which is why, again, I don’t have a problem that Lancaster is requiring mandatory spaying and neutering. Although I don’t approve that they are only requiring it of two particular breeds.

Instead of focusing on breed, many communities have found that dog-bite legislation coupled with public education has been a successful approach when trying to deal with aggressive dogs. Legislation aimed at punishing the owner of the dog rather than punishing the breed of the dog is far more effective in reducing the number of dog bites and attacks.

Bottom line: Dangerous dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and breed bans don’t effectively address the issue. As far as the legislation in Lancaster for mandatory spay and neuter of Rottweilers and pit bulls, I will be waiting with bated breath to see if it makes a difference.

Adoptable Pet of the Week

BUNS

Ava and Tyler

Such a charming couple. Ava, a girl, and Tyler, a boy, are going home together. And what a lucky home it will be. Ava and Tyler are generous with their affection. You could be included in the warmth of their love. A perfect, ready-made family for someone. They are brother and sister, and very sweet. They are also good with their litter box. Both are altered and ready to go. The six-month-olds are devoted to one another, and are cute mini-lops.

Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter (B.U.N.S.) is a volunteer organization that cares for abandoned rabbits. B.U.N.S is located at the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, 5473 Overpass Rd., Santa Barbara, California. B.U.N.S. works to find bunnies permanent homes, and educates the public on caring for a companion rabbit.

Comments

If Pit Bulls are banned, only criminals will have Pit Bulls.----Prohibiting drugs, dogs, sex-for-pay and all these other bans on vice are an infantile reaction to social problems that ALWAYS end up creating bigger problems and solve very little.

Someone please point me to examples of successful regulation by prohibition..

There are existing laws to deal with gangbangers, killers, etc, yet for some reason those laws aren't enforced; it's easier to come up with feel-good nanny legislation to appeal to the busybodies among us who feel that urge to tell everyone else how to live.

These people want to tell us what to eat, where to live, what kind of pets we are allowed to have, that we can't own firearms, who to love, what to think, what to wear, etc.

And binky & bill...you both bring up excellent points, the main one being that you cannot legislate common sense nor morality. These things are up to parents to teach their children.

Sure, more nanny legislation can be passed...there are bored busybody lawmakers at it daily trying to justify their overpaid jobs-for-life...but does that mean it makes things better?

What we are doing is clearly NOT working. Our society is sick. We have abdicated the responsibility we have to ourselves and to the world we live in by leaning on the government and waiting for it to solve all our problems for us by telling us where to go and how to wipe.

To paraphrase our new President: we need to pull our pants up and have some self-respect.

Every time I've encountered a vicious dog the behavior was backed by an "owner" of shady character & nature, typically a jerk (in nicer pc terms).The fact that somebody would refer themself as the "owner" of a living being, be it dog, cat or whatever, shows a false sense of superiority, therefore jerk behavior is soon to follow.This ban the pitbull/rottweiler issue, it's kind of like guns: They don't kill people, people kill people, w/ guns, knives, cars, baseball bats & sometimes even poor dogs that more than likely have been mistreated (Michael Vick anyone?).So what to do? Ban all these things? I don't think that's the answer.Gang members are domestic terrorists, simple as that. They've negated their rights by violating the contract w/ society that normal citizens follow.Instead of banning a dog, BAN GANGS. Let the roundups begin!Violation of "human rights" you ask? Who's rights got violated 1st: The normal citizen who wants nothing to do w/ gangs or the gang member that preys on the normal citizen? :) henry

When these desperate laws have been enacted, such as City of Denver, no one ever knows how to define the "breed" of illegal dog.

A God Squad of anonymous government officials just look at the animal and then decide its fate of life or death, all against the will of the dog owner-guardian and totally regardless of what that particular individual animal ever has done as bad behavior.

David, you touch on an interesting point. Sounds to me that some dog breeder type is trying to get on a city payroll. After all, who better to identify dogs, right?A lot of laws are passed for the sole reason that someone has a friend or reelative that needs a job & they just happen to specialize in a newly opened position. That's cronieism @ it's best.I ain't saying that's the case in this matter, but it would be interesting to see who the God Squad leader for this law would be & what link(s) they have to those in the machine that are trying to pass the law.Bill, good words, let's hope someday they ring true :) henry

Hank,the folks who come up with this nonsense are anything but dog breeders; they are H$U$ and PETA KoolAid swilling True Believers who are From The Government and Here To Help Us.

First up; get rid of all pets. Sever the human/animal bond completely. Start by convincing the gullible public that certain breeds of dogs are bad and need to be eliminated, of course to save "The Children" via Breed Specific Laws. Then enact mandatory spay/neuter laws and draconian anti-breeder laws to get rid of all the small hobby breeder/exhibitors and small rescue groups.

Import street dogs from other countries to fill the shelters to make it look like we have a "pet overpopulation problem" and make sure the public never learns the truth. Make sure never to mention the fact that it's impossible to rent housing when one owns pets.

Get some veterinarians on board (such as Ron Faoro, right here in SB) to push the spay/neuter laws; they make hundreds of dollars per procedure and have a vested interest.

If you need to learn more about what really goes on behind the scenes and who is pushing these laws,please check out: www.HumaneWatch.org to learn the 7 things the H$U$ doesn't want you to know.